As the younger generations come of age enough to get married, there seem to be increasingly higher rates of divorce. Besides the emotional turmoil these situations can cause, the legal process involved in ending a marriage can be equally as complex and difficult.

Overall, there is one divorce approximately every 36 seconds in the United States. That amounts to nearly 2,000 divorces per day, 16,800 per week, and a whopping 876,000 divorces a year. With so many couples falling into these statistics, most have plenty of family law questions for divorce lawyers to ensure that they are properly handling these legal proceedings.

Some of the more difficult issues that need resolving in cases of divorce are matters revolving around children. All divorce settlements must aim to provide the best support for all children involved. Not only does this entail designating custody but also determining the financial responsibilities of each parent, including the costs of child support payments.

“Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support,” a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau in October 2013, found that there are an estimated 14.4 million custodial parents — that is, the parent who has either sole or the majority of a child’s custody — in the United States. Of those 14.4 million, almost half (about 48%) had some version of legal or informal child support agreement in place.

In these situations, there is also some form of child support being exchanged by spouses. Custodial parents typically receive an estimated $311 per month. However, it is not at all uncommon for there to be disputes in missed payments. Only about 62.3% of the money owed in child support — an average of around $3,770 — is received every year.

These disputes over child support often lead to court hearings with child custody attorneys and family law lawyers. Most conflicts over finances lead to legal action, but when a child is involved, things escalate even further, with more family law questions needing to be answered.

There is no shame in having family law questions so as to ensure that your child is in a state of security. Custody hearings don’t have to be such a daunting task. Talk to a lawyer today, so you are well-prepared to handle all of the intricacies surrounding child custody and child support for your family.